J. P. Wiser's Last Barrels

My thanks to @Nozinan for the reviewed sample. Last Barrels is reported to be 14 years old. The bottle was opened 6.5 months ago

Nose: this is one very impressive nose. There are many nuances of very tasty oak wood present, all of which sit in elegant balance and refinement. Grain influence is subtle and well-integrated, showing primarily some spice from rye. There is a little dark fruit, perhaps from wine somewhere, which is also very discreet and well-integrated. This nose is outstanding Score: 25/25

Taste: that outstanding nose does not really translate, unfortunately. The dominant influence on the delivery is very big, very tannic wood. Accompanying the very big wood is a citric sourness. The grains stay in the background. This is certainly drinkable, but it is a big let-down from the nose. Desirable sweetness emerges as a partial balance to the tannic wood after 20 minutes in the glass. Score: 20/25

Finish: stays much the same medium long. A little additional sweetness creeps in from somewhere at the end. Score: 20/25

Balance: outstanding in the nose, too much wood tannin in the mouth. Score: 20/25

Water added: 1) added sweetness in the nose, but reduced complexity, and 2) bundled the wood flavours into a hickory-licorice package in the mouth. I prefer this without the water added

Total Sequential Score: 85 points

Strength: excellent perfectly balanced strong flavours in the nose, followed by intense tannic wood in the mouth. Lots of flavour, but not lots of balance in the mouth. Score: 23/25

Quality: fabulous quality of all flavours in the nose; too much tannin in the wood flavours in the mouth. Score: 21.5/25

Variety: outstanding variety in the nose; limited range of flavours in the mouth. Score: 21/25

Harmony: great in the nose; only fair thereafter. Score: 19/25

Total Non-Sequential Score: 84.5 points

Comment: when I nosed J. P. Wiser's Last Barrels I was anticipating that I had found a new top 10 Canadian whisky. Alas, this whisky drowns the palate in wood tannins. Both balance and complexity are lost. If you like to drink a lot of wood flavours, then you can get them here